Walk through any one of old Dubrovnik's three city gates, and you'll find a litter tray for cigarette ends and chewing gum. Inside, the reason becomes apparent. Dubrovnik is the Bath of the Balkans: a pristine set-piece walled town where shop signage is written on removable banners and only one colour is allowed for doors - a classic dark green, which combines most agreeably with the town's yellow limestone bricks and terracotta roof tiles. Litter would be a wart on its face.

A spick-and-span city, then? In parts. The main street Placa, also known as the Stradun, is one of the world's noblest drags, and in season its polished marble pavements are thronged with visitors (and are treacherous after rain). The Croatian city's cash cow is tourism, and the centre is reminiscent of a smaller Venice. But like its neighbour on the opposite side of the Adriatic, it can also reveal a more intimate side.

Go beyond the 17th-century cathedral - where small boys use buttresses as goalposts - and there's an area of streets and steep alleys called Pustijerna, where medieval arches recall old Jerusalem, and where the only sounds you'll hear are the waves sluicing the city walls and people practising the piano. From here, you can gaze east over the stone city towards hulking Mount Srd - behind which lies Bosnia-Herzegovina - and along the coast, studded with cypress trees. It's a peaceful scene.

Slightly jarring then to read the following map legend at each of the city gates: "City map of dangers caused by the aggression to Dubrovnik by the Yugoslav army, Serbs and Montenegrans, 1991-92", and to find shrapnel in the baroque facade of St Saviour's Church. Even now, the number of visitors is not yet back to pre-war levels. But the city re-establishes itself more each year, attracting a new generation of mini-breakers, cultural tourists, yacht-bound island-hoppers and independent travellers who find that, in so many ways, Dubrovnik delivers.

Where to stay

Dubrovnik's hotels are improving: a Hilton is being built just outside the Pile Gate and will open later this year. This year the Dubrovnik Palace will reopen as a kind of mega-boutique hotel. Meanwhile, the Excelsior (020 414 222, hotel-excelsior.hr) is a five-star modern block with swimming pool, spa and sauna, built to take full advantage of a west-facing view of Old Dubrovnik - it's worth trying for a sea view here, but if you can't get it, there's a terrace out front.

The Bellevue (020 413 095, hotel-bellevue.hr) is the other side of old Dubrovnik and has a lift that takes guests through the rocks to the shingle beach below (one should not expect too much sand in the Dubrovnik region, but at least this helps keep the water clear).

Another upmarket joint is the Pucic Palace (020 324 111, thepucicpalace.com). The only hotel in Old Dubrovnik, it sells town-house elegance. It's in a slapped-up 18th-century palace on one of the smart od Puca streets parallel to the Stradun.

Accommodation is one of the most expensive facets of Dubrovnik - if you want to save, try the B&Bs which advertise to their largely German clientele with the word "Zimmer".

Day trip

The island of Lokrum,· a brooding wooded presence in the bay, faces Dubrovnik. Take a boat out to the island (15kr for the scheduled service; more like 150kr unscheduled) and you'll land at a pier. The island is covered in pine and peacocks.

There's a cobbled walk up to a 12th-century monastery lined with oleander, rose and laurel, with an arboretum that has the legend: "Please do not write on the plants". Walk further, and you can get on to a beach that is - as they say here - nudistik . You can't stay over, and anyway, the locals think it's haunted.

A perfect day

Breakfast

A Mediterranean coffee-and-cake affair. The Gradska kavana (City Cafe) at prid Dvorom (020 321 414) overlooks Luza Square, the old town's key public space, and is a Viennese-style grand cafe - all chandeliers, waiters and newspapers. Or there's the terrace at Kavana Dubravka just outside the walls at the Pile Gate, which has sea views.

After a coffee here, walk through the gate, noting the statue of St Blaise, Dubrovnik's patron saint. Croatia is Catholic and there is a treasury of relics in the cathedral - including bits of dear old St Blaise - as well as a Titian above the altar.

The killer sight is the city walls. The 2km stroll can be vertiginous, but it's mercilessly picturesque. As the sea walls give out to the glittering Adriatic on one side and Dubrovnik's backgardens on the other, your hand reaches automatically for your camera.

Back at ground level, there are several historic attractions, off or near the Stradun. The 14th-century cloisters of the Franciscan monastery house is a treasury full of sacred art and artefacts, while the Rector's Palace is a Renaissance mansion.

Make sure you get to the small market at Gunduliceva poljana before lunchtime when it closes, buy cheeses, fruit and homemade Travarica, herbs pickled in liquor and sold for £3 in old pop bottles.

Lunch

There are many places in or near the Stradun (see where to eat and drink). The Croatian kitchen is east meets Italy. Hence, you have risotto, dark ham (like parma; called prsut ), pizza and spaghetti, and also kebab-like cevapcici sausages. But Dubrvonik's culinary raison d'être is its fish and shellfish - octopus, squid, lobster and hake feature widely. The wine is also a pleasant surprise: Poslip from the island of Korcula is generally fresh, simple and delightful, while reds from the Peljsecan peninsula are the connoisseur's call.

Afternoon

Continuing your monument hop, there's the second oldest synagogue in Europe after Prague (or so it is claimed) in the old one- street ghetto of Zudioska. Nearby is the Dominican monastery, which like its Franciscan counterpart has a museum attached.

You'll find the local filigree jewellery at shops like Djerdj Civljak at od Puca 18, craftsy joints like the Dubrovnik House at Svetog Dominika in the walls (020 322 092). Then there are tourist shops selling lace, hankies and men's ties, but 5th Avenue it ain't.

Evening

Dubrovnik does a local promenade, called the korzo, which happens at 7pm-ish - a good time for a sundowner at Buza, a modest place recognised by a sign saying "cold drinks", but with pole position in the city walls facing west over the sea. Back in town, the pavement bars beckon.

The summer festival (dubrovnik-festival.hr) has events in July and August and usually features theatrical performances in the Bokar Fortress. Otherwise, it's not hard to find open-air concerts or even bar music. The Hard Jazz Caffe Troubadour (Buniceva poljana 2, 020 323 476), is a long-running musical institution run by the delightful Marco, who once came fifth in the Eurovision Song Contest - you can listen to him play double bass, then finish off the night with beer and grappa.

Where to eat and drink

The coach crowd go to a street parallel to Stradun called Prijeko. At its southern end at Zlatarska is Rozarij (020 321 257), is a small and pleasant trattoria-type restaurant which has the usual roster of seafoods and meats. Then there's Dundo Maroje between the Stradun (020 321 445) and Kamenica (020 323 689) on Gunduliceva poljana, a functional place with seafood and a great location. You should definitely try Lokanda Peskarija by the harbour, where the black squid-ink risotto is kr35 - about £3.50. The Mea Culpa pizza house on Za Rokom has Tiffany lights and wooden tables and locals rate it highly. Then, Dubrovnik does posh: there's the Atlas Club Nautika (Brsalje 3, 020 442 526) which has a pianist and full-on service. It's right by the Pile Gate, with a great view of the Bokar Fortress. Proto (Siroka 1, 020 323 234) is another smart restaurant, a handsome place with photographs on the walls and wooden chairs. The Taverna Rustica (020 414222) is attached to the Excelsior hotel north of the old town, and does upscale fish dishes like lobster pasta.

Out of town, there's a restaurant called Konavoski Dvori close to the Montenegran border (020 791039) that serves country dishes like slow-roasted lamb and grilled fish, next to a river that roars from the mountains. The folkloric theme is slightly hokey but the food is simple and delicious, and you can walk it off in the hills beyond.

Way to go

Getting there: British Airways (ba.com/breaks or 0870 2400747) flies Gatwick-Dubrovnik from £99pp (a £15pp flight supplement applies if you book on the telephone). BA Holidays has accommodation at the four-star Excelsior Hotel until June 30 from £55pp per night including breakfast, based on a minimum three-night stay.

There's a new wave of boutique hotels and apartments emerging on the Dalmatian coast and Kvarner Riviera. We take a look at four of the best.

Set on the waterfront on the picturesque island of Brac, Hotel Kastil was once a Turkish fortress. Its minimalist rooms all have sea views. The hotel's Balinese-style cocktail bar, Varadero, is next door.

Hotel Pastura in Brac was designed by Mirjana Beganovic to look like a 1930s liner - all curved chrome and steel. Floaty muslin drapes, shades of blue and decorative beach pebbles reflect the beachside location.

The recently opened Hotel Villa Bacchus in Baska Voda has an excellent wine cellar. But the biggest selling point is its setting, just 20m from the beach with the Biokovo mountains as a backdrop.

· From £419 half-board through Holiday Options.

Hotel Valsabbion is not new but worth a mention for its nationally-renowned restaurant which combines Istrian and Italian cuisines. It has had the seal of approval from celebrity guests including John Malkovich and Mick Hucknall.

· From £625 per week through Simply Travel.

Italy specialist Cottages to Castles launched its first Croatia brochure this year with a range of characterful apartments and villas.

About this article

Wonderwall

This article appeared on p4 of the Travel section of the Guardian
on Friday 16 April 2004.
It was published on
the Guardian website
at 13.26 EDT on Saturday 17 April 2004.
It was last modified at 13.26 EDT on Monday 2 October 2006.
It was first published at 19.00 EST on Tuesday 21 November 2006.